Thornton Wilder. The Merchant of Yonkers SIGNED. Harper & Brothers, New York and London, 1939.

Price: US$750.00 + shipping

Description: Signed postcard by Thornton Wilder loosely laid in. First edition stated on the copyright page. This book measures approximately 8.25" x 5.5", with 180 numbered pages. This book is in very good or better condition. Minor bumping to the head and tail ends of spine. Dust jacket is in good plus condition. Chips at the head and tail ends of spine. Small open tear at the top of front and rear board. Price clipped. "The Merchant of Yonkers" is the first of two Broadway plays that Wilder wrote based on the 1835 one-act "A Day Well-Spent" by John Oxenford, and an 1842 play by Johann Nestroy. This play would become the basis for Hello, Dolly! Please view the many other rare titles available for purchase at our store. We are always interested in purchasing individual or collections of fine books. Inventory #(M6-23).

Seller: Ernestoic Books, Clarence, NY, U.S.A.

WILDER, THORNTON.. The Merchant of Yonkers. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1939, 1939.

Price: US$2500.00 + shipping

Description: First Edition. Fine in a very good or slightly better dust jacket. Presentation copy, inscribed by Wilder in 1939; 'D.T. from T.W. Greetings + best wishes. New Haven, August 21 1939.' This play was initially unsuccessful, closing on Broadway in January, 1939, but later provided the immediate basis for the phenomenon that was Hello Dolly! Wilder's inscriptions are common, but seldom found in this title. Failing definitive research, one speculates that the 'D.T.' might have been Deems Taylor or Dorothy Thompson, the former more likely, given his active participation in theater and film. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.

Seller: Peter L. Stern & Co., Inc, Newton, MA, U.S.A.

WILDER, THORNTON & CAROL CHANNING. The Merchant of Yonkers. New York Harper & Brothers 1939, 1939.

Price: US$6500.00 + shipping

Description: First Edition. Signed and inscribed by the author Thornton Wilder to actress Carol Channing in black and red ink on a 4 1/2Ó x 6 1/8Ó sheet of his personal printed stationery which has been affixed to the front free endpaper. The inscription is written within a 3Ó diameter red ink circle drawn by Wilder: ÒThis is the first Dolly-imprint. She sends her love to the great-hearted all-winning Carol. Thousands and thousands will miss you. DonÕt be away too long. And with love, too, from Isabel [ThorntonÕs sister] and Thornton, June 1967Ó. The parts of the inscription in red are: ÒShe sends her love toÓ, ÒCarolÓ, ÒDonÕt be away too long.Ó, and with a rectanglular box around ÒloveÓ. Very good copy with some minor edge wear and darkening to the cloth in a lightly handled dust jacket with some darkening, mostly to the spine and rear panel, and some small chips and tears. Carol Channing is perhaps best known for her performance as Dolly Gallagher Levi in the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!, based on WilderÕs play The Merchant of Yonkers, which he revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955. The musical Hello Dolly!, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart, opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on January 16, 1964 starring Carol Channing, David Burns, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Eileen Brennan. Channing left the Broadway production in August 1965 and took the show on the road with The National Company, closing on June 11, 1967 in Houston. The story follows the tale of Dolly Gallagher Levi, a strong-willed matchmaker, as she travels to Yonkers, New York to find a match for the miserly "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder. Thornton Niven Wilder (1897 Ð 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer PrizesÑfor the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey, and for the plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth Ñ and a U.S. National Book Award for the novel The Eighth Day. Interestingly, Wilder planned to rewrite his 1942 play The Skin of Our Teeth, with Channing playing the parts of both Mrs. Antrobus and Sabina, but died before he could finish it. Carol Elaine Channing (1921 - 2019) was a legendary singer and actress with a fine sense of comedic timing, a distinctive smile and voice, and a generous spirit. She was the recipient of three Tony Awards (including one for lifetime achievement), a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. Other highlights of her career on both stage and screen include Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Vamp, and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Seller: James Pepper Rare Books, Inc., ABAA, Santa Barbara, CA, U.S.A.